The City of New Bedford has roadwork sites for the upcoming week of March 1 ,2020 – March 6, 2020 and they are as follows:

Eversource:

• Eversource will replace the gas mains at the following locations: There will be no services tied into the new mains until after April 1, 2020 as a precaution of the winter season.
◦ Fair St. from County St. to Orchard St.
◦ Jason Ct. from Crapo St. to 3 Jason Ct.
◦ Crapo from Grinnell to Rockland St.
◦ Summer St. from Studley to Locust
◦ Johnathan from Arnold St. to 57-59 Johnathan St.
◦ Rounds St. from Arnold St. to 141 Rounds
◦ Commonwealth Ave. between Kempton St. – Clarendon St.
◦ Metropolitan from Dartmouth Town Line To Commonwealth Ave.
◦ Peckham from Mt. Pleasant to County St.
◦ Mulberry St. from Larch to #8 Mulberry St.
◦ Cottage St. from Parker St. to Durfee St.
◦ Bolton from Fair St. To Kane St.

Other:

• Contractor working at Hazelwood Park for new power supply and upgrades to parking lot lighting.
• Contractor will continue water and sewer replacement along Cottage St between Parker and Maxfield Street. During working hours, Cottage St. may be closed to thru traffic with access by local traffic only at times. Southbound traffic will be detoured via Pope, Parker or Willis Street. North bound traffic will be detoured via Smith, Sycamore or Maxfield Street. Detour signage, police details and traffic controls will be in place.
• Contractor is scheduled to continue construction of the new pumping station and installation of the site utilities at the Front St./ Elm St. site. Elm St. between JFK Memorial Highway (Route 18) and Macarthur Drive will be closed to westbound traffic. Westbound traffic will be detoured via MacArthur Drive. There will be detour signage and traffic controls in place.
• Contractor will continue scheduling appointments and will have technicians visiting various locations throughout the city to replace meters and meter interface units (meter readers). There will be no traffic controls for this work.
• Due to ongoing construction at the High Hill Reservoir, residents may experience discolored water. The water is safe and the discoloration is temporary. We recommend allowing the water to settle for a few hours and then flushing your service line by letting the bath tub run for a few minutes until the water clears.
• Department of Public Infrastructure will be filling potholes on a continuous basis throughout the city.
• Please see the City of New Bedford website for additional street closings due to Special Events.
• Department of Public Infrastructure conducting its annual street sweeping program city-wide.
• The Contractor will begin work to relocate the existing water transmission main at the Tarkiln Hill Rd/Kings Highway rail crossing. There will be temporary lane closures at times during construction. Police details will assist with traffic management and signage will be posted.
• The Contractor Scheduled to work 10 p.m.- 6 a.m., Sunday March 8th for Shutdown of 36” water main between Lambeth St and Park Ave. All services impacted by the shutdown have been notified. Water main will be back up and running by 6:00 a.m. Monday March 9th.
• The Contractor is scheduled to continue cleaning and performing CCTV work on wastewater piping along Macarthur Dr, JFK Memorial Highway, Herman Melville Blvd, Wamsutta St, Antonio L Costa Ave, Hervey Tichon Ave, Rodman St, Hamilton St, Centre St, Union St, Commercial St, Cannon St Power Plant, Airport Access Rd, Mill Rd, River Rd, Mazeppa St, Tarkiln Hill Rd, Hamlin St, Truro St, Wood St, and Howard Ave.

Shrewsbury commercial real estate developer Donat Aubuchon has purchased Dartmouth’s “Big Value Outlet Plaza” from Dartmouth Select Board member David Tatelbaum for $7.5 million.

The new owner plans to modernize the property with a new facade and keep the anchor store which has been around since 1990, but whose structure goes back to 1962. In addition, he wants to add a drive-through area to benefit a potential retailer that is interested in the location.

For those who frequent the plaza regularly, don’t be alarmed: the current tenants will remain.

Renovations are expected to begin on the site this fall after approval has been received by Dartmouth’s Planning Board.

On Thursday, Jan. 30, the Community Animal Hospital in Shrewsbury presented a donation to the Massachusetts Vest-a-Dog non-profit organization that is being used to purchase a ballistic vest for K9 Hulk.

Hulk and his handler, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Nicholas Dumas, as well as MSP Sgt. David Stucenski and his partner, K9 Frankie, attended the presentation. Sgt. Stucenski and Trooper Dumas and their K9 partners are assigned to the MSP Special Tactical Operations Team, the department’s specialized tactical entry and arrest team.

The Department is extremely grateful to the wonderful folks at Community Animal Hospital and Inn & Spa and Mass-Vest-a-Dog for providing this important piece of gear for Hulk and for their ongoing support of the Massachusetts State Police.

Community Animal Hospital and Inn & Spa

Massachusetts State Police photos:

Meet 8-month-old black labrador retriever Kona, a service K9 trained in detecting biological weapons, chemical weapons, and pharmaceutical-based agents.

Travis Rebello, a New Bedford Fire Fighter and member of the Massachusetts Hazardous Materials Response Division heard about a dog the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department had on their team and after lots of research thought a trained k9 with those skills would be a great tool to have in this area.

Kona comes from a line of service dogs out of Buxton, Maine. Her mother was a cadaver dog and her father was trained in search and rescue. She joined her partner Travis Rebello, and his family in December soon after beginning her training in January with the K9 training unit with the Bristol County Sherrif’s Department.

Travis, while he’s had other dogs in his life had never really had experience training, the Sherrif department worked hard with both of them for many weeks until he was able to handle his dog and Kona passed her certifications.

Now that Kona has been trained and certified she’ll be utilized during big events in the area such as the New Bedford Half Marathon, Day of Portugal, the Portuguese feast and at Gillette Stadium. Her ability to smell and detect these hazardous materials is far more advanced than the machines available and Travis hopes she becomes a model for future K9s to be added to other teams.

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Faces of New Bedford is a New Bedford Guide project being undertaken by Josh Souza. If you’d like to nominate someone or ask a question you can inquire with him through email at josh@newbedfordguide.com.

Faces of New Bedford began as a project by Colton Simmons. You can find Colton on Instagram: https://instagram.com/simmonscolton.

By Katie Lannan, State House News Service

Stressing that the risk of contracting coronavirus remains low in Massachusetts, state public health officials said Tuesday that they are prepared for a potential outbreak.

Tens of thousands of cases of the respiratory illness now known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China, have been diagnosed worldwide. Public Health Commissioner Dr. Monica Bharel told reporters Monday that there is still one confirmed case in Massachusetts — that patient “continues to recover,” she said — and that there is not “community-level spread” of the virus in Massachusetts.

Bharel said the department is monitoring 231 people in self-quarantine, who returned from travel in China, for potential symptoms. Another 377 people have completed monitoring and were released without symptoms.

“When we look at this current COVID-19 situation, we don’t speculate on how or when it will spread, so the most important thing I can tell people today is that we at the Department of Public Health are prepared,” Bharel said. “We are prepared to address what comes our way. People should live their lives normally and go about their normal activities.”

President Donald Trump and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials conducted a 6 p.m. briefing on the illness.

Bharel said state public health officials are in daily contact with federal agencies. The department has issued guidance for clinicians, schools and businesses, and launched a website to update the public on COVID-19.

The department is also in regular communication with health care providers and local boards of health, Bharel said. It is supporting hospitals in their “surge planning” procedures, to make sure beds are available if needed, and directing clinical labs to take steps to prepare in case they receive specimens from patients under investigation.

Bharel said the department is monitoring impacts to the supply chains for personal protective equipment like masks and gloves, and providing health care facilities with strategies to “optimize” the use of such equipment.

“We have been in touch with our colleagues throughout the health care system, and we have been told that at this time there are adequate supplies throughout the health care facilities,” she said. “We anecdotally have heard of some spot shortages but overall, the supplies have been adequate.”

Members of the public should not wear face masks unless they are sick, Bharel said.

She said individuals who have traveled and develop symptoms of respiratory illness should contact their health care provider and discuss their travel history. The department is advising Massachusetts residents to follow CDC guidance on future travel.

Bharel said the risk for contracting coronavirus is “much, much lower than the risk of contracting influenza,” and that Massachusetts residents should get flu shots if they have not already done so.

Many of the steps for preventing the flu, colds and COVID-19 are the same, she said: wash hands regularly, cover coughs, and stay home when feeling sick.

New Bedford Police Detectives arrested four New Bedford men and four juveniles in relation to an incident of shots fired with property damage and a fight that occurred over the weekend in the area of 340 Smith Street in New Bedford. While investigating the shots fired, detectives learned the victim was also the victim of an assault/armed robbery on February 22.

The following were each charged with three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and armed robbery: Justin Cardoza, 19, 87 Capitol St.; Walter Gomes, 20, 292 Sawyer St. and Kevin A. Zelaya-Ayala, 21, 351 Sawyer St., Apt. #2.

Melvin E. Pimental, 21, 27 Hicks St. was charged with discharging a firearm within 500 ft. of a building, destruction of property, assault and battery by discharge of a firearm, witness intimidation, carry without license, carry without license loaded.

The investigation is ongoing with more charges expected.

Detective Jason Gangi is leading the investigation. If you have more information on this crime, please contact the NBPD Detective Unit at (508) 991-6300 Ext. 79519

Two New Bedford men pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in connection to the August 24, 2016 stabbing homicide of 15-year-old Mateo Morales in New Bedford, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Jose Lopez, 19, pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court this week to charges of Manslaughter and Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon. This defendant was sentenced by Judge Renee Dupuis to serve 17 to 20 years in state prison. Upon his eventual release from prison, this defendant will be placed on supervised probation for an additional two years. The defendant will be remanded to home confinement during the first six months of his probationary term, and will be fitted with a GPS monitoring device during the remainder of his probation.

Luis Class, 25, pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court this week to a single charge of Manslaughter. He was sentenced by Judge Dupuis to serve 15 to 18 years in state prison.

On August 24, 2016, both defendants attacked Mateo Morales and in the course of the attack, Defendant Lopez stabbed Morales, causing his death. The death was caused by a single, penetrating stab wound to the chest. This incident was the continuation of long-standing ill-will between youth from the south end and the west end of the city of New Bedford.

Mateo Morales was a 15-year-old resident of the Temple Landing Housing Development in the city’s west end. Earlier in the afternoon, Mateo Morales and a friend had gone to the south end where they were jumped by a group of unidentified south end males who beat up Morales and took his chain. After this, social media posts about the beating and chain escalated tensions on both sides.

At approximately 6:00 pm, Defendant Class, a south-ender, had his mother’s white Hyundai and was driving on Chancery Street at the western border of Temple Landing when there was an alleged verbal altercation between him and Mateo Morales who was on foot on Chancery Street. Defendant Class states that Morales then threw something at his vehicle, possibly a plastic water bottle. Defendant Class then drove to the south end and gathered a group of confederates to return to the west end to beat up Mateo Morales. Defendant Lopez was one of these individuals.

At approximately 6:20 pm, video surveillance from Temple Landing shows defendant Class driving north up Chancery Street and parking on the wrong side of the street at Chancery and Middle Streets. The two defendants and three others exited the vehicle and head straight toward the group of west-enders congregating just north of the intersection. Video surveillance shows Class, dressed in a black shirt, and Lopez, dressed in a white shirt, chase Mateo Morales across Chancery Street as the other 3 males disappear from view as they travel westerly on Middle Street. Class and Lopez flanked Morales and then cornered him against a black Mercedes, parked on the east side curb of Chancery. Class throws punches at Morales as Lopez swings in a stabbing motion at Morales but misses. Lopez can be seen placing his left hand on the hood of the Mercedes and stabbing with his right hand, connecting with Morales’s midsection. Once this occurred, the two defendants immediately ceased the attack and Morales ran off towards his mother’s address a half block away.

When paramedics arrived minutes later, they found Mateo Morales on the front entryway to his mother’s residence suffering from extreme blood loss. Morales was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was ultimately pronounced deceased.

The case was prosecuted by Co-First Assistant District Attorney Patrick Bomberg and Assistant District Attorney Robert Digiantomaso.

“The death of 15 year old Mateo Morales was a very tragic and unnecessary loss of life. It was the result of longstanding animosity between rival groups from the west-end and south-end of New Bedford. The assailants appear to have not understood the gravity of their actions and the resulting consequences. This senseless street violence has left the victim’s family scarred forever and two other families’ lives turned upside down. It is a very sad situation,” District Attorney Quinn lamented.

On Wednesday, February 26, at 5:29 p.m., Wareham Police Officers Aaron Pacheco and Blaise Lalli were dispatched to Liquors ‘N More, 18 Tobey Road, for a report of a vehicle which had struck the building twice. Officers located the vehicle near the business, with a female operator sitting in the driver’s seat.

After a brief investigation, 39-year old Kerrianne Rapozo of Wareham was placed under arrest for leaving the scene of an accident, possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and operating under the influence 2nd offense. The damage to the building appeared minor.

Junior Achievement of Southern Massachusetts (JA) and Title Sponsor, Bristol County Savings Bank, announce that six schools from the New Bedford area – Bishop Stang High School, Dartmouth High School, Fairhaven High School, Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School and New Bedford High School – will participate in the 7th Annual Junior Achievement Titan Business Challenge to take place on the campus of UMass Dartmouth this coming Tuesday, March 10, 2020. The Junior Achievement Titan Business Challenge is a business strategy competition in which high school students compete against other schools in teams using an online, interactive business simulation which provides students with essential business knowledge. Each of the schools will compete against an estimated 200 students from 13 other schools.

“We are excited to have six schools from the greater New Bedford area competing in JA’s Titan Business Challenge this year,” said Jeffrey Pelletier, JA President. “Thanks to the support of the Bank and our other community partners, more than 1,000 students over the past six years have had the opportunity to participate in this hands-on, dynamic learning experience while gaining knowledge from some of the region’s top business leaders and competing for scholarship awards that can help make a higher education possible.”

During the event, the students will compete for scholarships while gaining insight into the world of business, at no cost to the students or their high schools. In addition to developing budgets and interpreting financial reports, students can expect to increase their knowledge of pricing, production, capital investment, R&D, marketing and charitable giving.

One thing that unites us as a nation is land: Americans strongly support saving the open spaces they love. Since 1971, the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust (DNRT), has been doing just that for the people of Dartmouth. Now DNRT has announced it has renewed its land trust accreditation – proving once again that, as part of a network of over 400 accredited land trusts across the nation, it is committed to professional excellence and to maintaining the public’s trust in its conservation work.

“Going through the rigorous accreditation renewal process demonstrates DNRT’s commitment to being one the best land trusts in the country,” said DNRT’s Executive Director Dexter Mead. “To be successful in our mission to preserve and protect Dartmouth’s natural resources for people and nature forever, we must set and follow high standards. Accreditation helps us do this.”

DNRT provided extensive documentation and was subject to a comprehensive third-party evaluation prior to achieving this distinction. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission awarded renewed accreditation, signifying its confidence that DNRT’s lands will be protected forever.

Since its inception in 1971, DNRT has worked tirelessly to make land conservation a top priority in the town of Dartmouth. With the support of its members and other donors, and through strong partnerships and relationships, DNRT has been able to protect over 5,400 acres of land during its 49 year history. This non-profit organization currently owns over 1,800 acres spread across the town, and is pleased to be able to offer recreation opportunities on nearly 40 miles of trails located on 17 different reserves.

“It is exciting to recognize DNRT’s continued commitment to national standards by renewing this national mark of distinction,” said Melissa Kalvestrand, Executive Director of the Commission. “Donors and partners can trust the more than 400 accredited land trusts across the country are united behind strong standards and have demonstrated sound finances, ethical conduct, responsible governance, and lasting stewardship.”

DNRT is one of 1,363 land trusts across the United States according to the Land Trust Alliance’s most recent National Land Trust Census. A complete list of accredited land trusts and more information about the process and benefits can be found at www.landtrustaccreditation.org.